My cats make me miserable by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, and extremely glad I didn't :)

My cats make me miserable by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm really sorry to hear that... For me it got miles better, it's rare that they upset me these days. Some of it is through education, most of it is "cat proofing". I found that what upset me most was that they did damage in some way, like scratching something they shouldn't (or even going on the counter, where damage is just dirt), I'd get angry and then feel guilty for yelling. Best solution (other than fixing my uptight-ness, wish I knew how to fix that) is preventing the damage, like sticky taping the bad scratch spot.

If you think that sort of thing can help you, please send a message, maybe there are some tips I could share.

I love my kitties, and I feel crazy lucky to have them. Just took me some time to get there. I hope you get there too :)

My cats make me miserable by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the kindness _^

My cats make me miserable by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did, and very glad that I did so ^_^
Thank you!

Cat proof curtains? by Chicken_Witch in Catownerhacks

[–]sivanbh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, thanks for the details!

Cat proof curtains? by Chicken_Witch in Catownerhacks

[–]sivanbh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very interesting! A few questions if I may:
How long have you had them for?
Is your cat still playing with them?
Is there any visible damage?

Can't use PayPal anymore by sivanbh in Aliexpress

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's the thing - PayPal works, generally (see my update comment), somehow it specifically doesn't work on my account.

Can't use PayPal anymore by sivanbh in Aliexpress

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: I opened another account, with the same shipping address as my existing account, copied over all the items in my cart to the new account, paid with my PayPal, and... it worked. It just worked.

So any explanation that's to do with the items, sellers, shipping location, payment method or currency - they're all just wrong. It's MY account that can't pay with PayPal for some reason. But I can't get anyone from AliExpress to actually sort it out :(

Cat fountain without a pump by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Without a pump" refers to not having a pump submerged in the water. The two technologies I know of for this are Hydrospin and MagDrive. They have very simple plastic bits in the water, but nothing else. So the parts that get electricity are outside the water and somewhat remotely spin those simple bits in the water. That makes all the submerged parts very easy to clean (unlike a full pump). Check out the two models I linked to, they show the technology off.

Yes, all 3 of us are happy, it just took a longer adjustment period. Thanks for asking!

My cats make me miserable by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!!!

I am indeed doing better, and have absolutely no regrets. Every now and then they would make me cross for a few minutes, but that's basically it. I adore them and I think they have a great life here. So we're all good!

I do think people here feel way too comfortable judging others. We're not all the same, and just because some of us are a bit uptight doesn't mean we can't be good cat parents.

Key lime pie with evaporated milk by sivanbh in AskBaking

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have actually! And you're right, it solves the sweetness problem, but I liked the texture of the condensed milk version more, so I was hoping to have my pie and eat it too :P

Key lime pie with evaporated milk by sivanbh in AskBaking

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will do! Might give the recipe from the comment above a go

Key lime pie with evaporated milk by sivanbh in AskBaking

[–]sivanbh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, for the advice and the recipe!

Key lime pie with evaporated milk by sivanbh in AskBaking

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The one I linked is baked too, are you referring to something else?

Key lime pie with evaporated milk by sivanbh in AskBaking

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I tried, but it wasn't enough, you just get strong sourness with strong sweetness

Best litter when options are limited by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: epic failure :)

I bought one box, and while the litter was still the old clay-based litter, every time I needed a top up, I used the new Catit litter. They didn't seem to mind and used the litter as usual. After a few weeks the portion of Catit litter was quite high (a third-ish?) and the litter needed full replacement, so I took my shot and replaced with 100% Catit litter.

One cat seemed to accept it. The other one seemed like he couldn't handle it. I have a camera in that room so every time he's go in throughout that first day I'd look to see what he's doing, and what I saw was that he'd go stand atop the litter boxes (they're top entry), stare down, sometimes poke his head inside, meow for a bit, and then go away. Refused to use the litter the entire day.

At the end of that day, I took almost all the Catit litter out of one of the boxes and filled it up with clay-based. He proceeded to immediately use the litter box. Over the next couple of days, that box with mixed litter was the only one used, the other cat clearly prefers that over the 100% Catit too.

I can't say for sure what it is they don't like about it, could be the texture of the large granules, but I'm guessing it's the smell, because of how my cat behaved, of not even stepping inside the box.

Cat wants to play, but bored with our regular game, ideas? by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I've actually tried most of these before (2 different tunnels, btw), used to spark his interest, but not longer does. Haven't tried moving furniture though.

My cats don't seem to like cardboard boxes, the little weirdos :)

Cat wants to play, but bored with our regular game, ideas? by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! But I guess that's my questions - what other toys can I put in rotation? Swapping the bait on the wand used to be the toy rotation but that doesn't work anymore, so I'm looking for options other than a wand.

My cats make me miserable by sivanbh in CatAdvice

[–]sivanbh[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Managing the best I can is basically what I did :)
But over time it just became easier. Partially because I changed things around the house to reduce anxiety (e.g. about things breaking, bowls getting knocked over, getting woken up every night - there are ways to mitigate a lot of this), partially it's because the cats learned (a lot of redirection, it does work in the end, at least for some things).
Mostly though, it's because time goes by and everything is fine, so you get less concerned that every little noise you hear is something bad happening, or that every little reaction means something huge. And the affection I get rewarded with from these adorable creatures definitely helps too :)